Frequently Asked Questions

Safety and Community

Visits to CSUF by polarizing figures or groups can become violent when supporters and protesters clash. In these cases, how will the school protect students?

When there is a threat of violence in our community, the CSUF administration works closely with student affairs staff, University Police Department (UPD), and/or other groups to develop and communicate safety plans to the campus. Generally, we advise that if students see violence occurring, they should separate themselves from it, report what they see to police and follow police instructions. When events are occurring that have the potential to endanger students, UPD uses our emergency text and timely warning to keep the campus informed about developments in real time.

Additionally, CSUF offers many resources, including counseling services, for students who have been affected physically, mentally or emotionally by such events.

Certain controversial speakers have been known in the past to identify and condemn specific individuals, say for being transgender or undocumented. Is this grounds for cancelling a speaker’s visit?

Critical statements, and even the ridicule of individuals, are still largely protected by the Constitution. The law under the First Amendment is clear that the campus cannot exclude speakers on this basis. If the campus believed that a speaker was going to engage in speech that was directed at an individual and not protected by the First Amendment – such as by repeating statements that had been found to be defamatory or by revealing publicly very private facts about an individual – the campus would do all that it could to prevent this and to protect the person.

What legal actions can be taken if a speaker “outs” an individual?

CSU has clear and well established non-discrimination policies. If this individual believes they have experienced discrimination by this “outing” they can file a complaint and the university will process the complaint to determine if discrimination has been established by the speaker’s comments or actions. Complaints can be filed at University Police, Title IX, and/or Human Resources and Diversity Initiatives.

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